im sure this is a common fault as a few guys i know with scoobs have mentioned it, but mine is more creakier and louder than theres, when i turn the steering wheel, if i do it very slowly, u can hear each creak, this combined with driving means at low speed all u can hear is the creaking, it puts u off the burble !! now is it the rack or does anyone know of aany other part giving this problem ??

cheers.....

 

Hmm, no-one had this issue then, just my luck !!!

 

It could well be the track rod ends are dry and stiff. Noise travels, but I would put money on it being them
Daz.

 

do u mean u wouldnt put money on it being them ?
i will check, but they seem fine,its as if its like cogs or something, each little turn of the steering wheel produces a creaaakkk,if i turn it quickly its not too bad, but slowly, its like opening a creaky door.......

 

I have exactly the same fault. I will be taking mine in to a dealer soon to diagnose the fault, unless someone beats me to it.

 

AFAIK almost all MY03 WRX's have this problem and is due to plastic boots in tie rods instead of the elastics all other MY Imprezas use and are quite of course!
JIM

 

MY 99 uk does this too, started about a week after i hand the bumpsteer done!

Dan.

 

Ok then. It is the TRE.

Daz

 

I heard my creaking today for the first time. Maybe the flooded roads and damp weather has something to do with it. I concluded that it was dry yellow plastic Proflex bushes but I will get it on the ramp and have a look next week.
i'll post back on here.

 

Track rod ends, these are the bits you adjust for the wheel alignment ??

 

From a cursory look it may be a ball joint. will try and get it on the ramp tomorrow.

 

Yes, those are the ones.

The ball joint will be dry inside which will be causing the creaking when you turn the steering. Easy & job to replace them, you will need to have the tracking done again though afterwards which makes it a bit more expensive.

Daz

 

By ball joints, your talking about the ones at the bottom of the wishbone/hub area ?
if so, i dont think im gonna be so lucky, my creaking is loud and sounds like its coming from the steering wheel cowling from inside the car, its only when u get outside and lift the bonnet its apparant its underneath, i think mine is the rack :-( as i cant see the bottom ball joints or the track rod ends making the creaking noise that loud inside the car !?!?!?
the creaking doesnt happen straight away, on cold days it takes about 1/4 mile to start being heard, on warm days its more aggressive.

Huf !!!

 

Any luck finding the cause of the creaking? Its getting worse on my MY00 (also with the bumpsteer mod).

 

Finally put the car on ramps last weekend and found the creaking was coming from the rack mounting bush. Some silicon lubricant has (at least for now) stopped the creaking.

 

Hmm, i had my car in the garage for the clutch to be done, whilst there, (nain dealer) i asked them to have a look at the problem, they lubed up spome bits i can see, they said before i left, no creaking now, as i drove off, eeeekk eeeekkk as i turned out of the dealership, as i didnt have the car in for this, clutch cost me £700, flywheel etc etc, i didnt moan, but i will have a lookm myself, what kind of creak was urs, mine is o.k for like 10 seconds once the car starts, with a fulll lock done,but then, eeek eeek its hard to describe, sounds more like internal problems but cant tell, where is the raCK mounting bush ?

cheers......

 

The creaking could only be heard when turning at slow speed (or when stationary) in car parks / driveway etc. The slower you turned the wheel the more creaks could be heard. With the enging off it was is even more obvious. I guess there is more force on the rack when the wheels aren't moving much.
The rack seems to be bolted to the car by two U-clamps - the one that was creaking is directly below the steering column (easy to get to with the car on ramps and the tray removed).

Hope this helps ....

 

sporter, sounds exactly to a tee like my symptons, stationary even just turning the wheel with engine off its like my grannies knickers beiong pulled down, eeeekkk !!!

will jack her up some time and lube up LOL !! whats the best stuff to use, i have general tub of grease, will this be o.k ?

cheers........

 

Sorry, don't know what stuff should be used - but I think silicon grease is ok. I'm sure I read somewhere that some oils can damage rubber bushes.
BTW, £700 for a new clutch Think I'll be putting up with the clutch judder for a bit longer.

 

This is exactly what my MY00 (with bumpsteer mod) is doing. Will have a look myself tomorrow.

 

Well, i lifted the car up yesterday and turned the steering to hear where the creaking is coming from, guess what, it didnt do it while the wheels were off the ground ??!?!?!

i sprayed some oil lubricant onto some bushes and onto the steering rack mounts, its not great stuff but i thought i weould try, lowered the car, no creaks, several turns later, slight creak, few more turns, creaking was back as normal ?!!?!? i will do it again with some proper lubricant, BUT, why does it creak only when the wheels are on the ground, cause it doesnt do it when they are off, i cant 100% tell where its coming from , unless i use a garage ramp ?!?!?!
mine has eibachs on lowered about 20mm, what is entailed with the bumpsteer mod ?
any ideas ??????
cheers..........

 

From what I could tell, the creaking was caused by the rack moving on its mountings - with the wheels are off the ground there's no force on the rack.
Did you remove the mounting bracket?

The bumpsteer mod lowers the rack by a few mm - got it done at Powerstation - have a look at www.powerstation.org.uk

Cheers

 

From what i could see, i could only see 1 mounting bracket, didnt remove it, is it o.k to do this and lube it up that way ? the other mounting point seemed to be where the steering column goes into the rack,unless the other mounting point is under the plastic stuff/engine protector ??

so, did you remove the brakcets and lube up the bushes this way ?

the creaking sounds like its coming from the steering column/steering wheel/cowling when im in the car, but when the bonnets open its clearly coming from the engine bay.was this the case for you ?

cheers....

 

Yep - exactly the same sounds.
The bracket I removed was the one directly under the steering column. I think the bolts were inaccessible with the plastic undertray in place, but I'd removed it before looking at the rack.

 

cheers sporter, wish me luck LOL, gotta wait for the weekend again now :-(

cheers again for your input........

 

well I have just removed the steering rack brackets, sprayed, lubricated and re-assembled, guess what, it hasnt made a blind bit of difference. Im convinced it is coming from within the rack itself.

 

If you have checked the tie rod end balljoints and they are ok then you need to have a look at the tie rod ball joints, (the ones under the rubber boots/gaitors) remove the clip/tie that holds the boot to the rack and peel it back so you can see the ball joint. They tend to be lacking grease, also if any water has got in then they will start to rust. When they get dry they tend to creak because of the lack of lubrication, this noise does transmit itself through the rack. Failing this check out the U/J that connects the steering column to the pinion of the rack, make sure that is not starting to sieze up.

 

andy97, please dont be the bearer of bad news, i am about to try this at the weekend LOL :-( i will do all the above and report back, MOT due tuesday, dont want the creaking to make it fail as a kind of not found but dangerous steering system or wotever they will call it :-(

cheers.............

 

Mine passed the mot, and it was creaking like a good un at the time

 

my uk 99 model has started doing this lately the first time it done it was very cold 7.30 in the morning !!! it sounded like a fan belt slipping !!!!!! it only ever dose it loud when its starts from cold then when its warm it squeaks quietly lock to lock like a hamster in its wheel! ist sounds like every one elses problem but im also having trouble with steering geometry aswell . the car is lowered on eibachs front and rear , i get it set up my local scooby garage it drives well for about 2 month then gose back to dragging me all over the road i try and keep off all the bump and speed ramps aswell cos of this dose any one know what should course this ?